ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — State officials say the number of public school teachers in New Mexico rating highly effective or better has increased.

The New Mexico Public Education Department on Monday released the latest results under the much-debated teacher evaluation system that showed 34.2 percent of teachers last year earned "highly effective" or "exemplary" ratings.

That's a 2 percentage point from the previous year.

Overall, around 75 percent of New Mexico teachers were graded as effective or better when it comes to their success in the classroom.

The Lincoln National Forest invites the public to attend a community meeting about their effort to revise their Forest Plan. The revised Forest Plan will describe the strategic direction for management of forest resources for the next 15 years.

With 130 employers registered, New Mexico State University students and alumni along with community members can attend the 34th annual Career Expo Fair Sept. 18-19. NMSU Career Services hosts the two-day event that will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Corbett Center Student Union third floor ballrooms.

The University of Texas at El Paso, with a consortium of more than 40 other institutions and organizations from the public and private sector, is at the forefront of a national effort to increase the number of Hispanic students who participate in computing.

New York City-based artist Eric LoPresti will have a solo exhibition at New Mexico State University Art Gallery, with an opening reception from 6–7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 4.

This exhibition examines the complicated effects the Cold War and nuclear testing have had on the Southwest American landscape and the global psyche. Comprised of oil paintings, large-format watercolors, digital works and a multi-channel video (a new medium for the artist), “Superbloom” will be accompanied by a series of performances.

Community recycling programs across the U.S. are scrambling to decrease contamination levels and thereby increase the quality of recyclable materials. New options are also being used to educate recyclers to reduce contaminants before blue bins reach the curb.

Patrick Peck, Director, South Central Solid Waste Authority (SCSWA), explains, “The fee increase approved in March by the SCSWA Board has been postponed as long as possible, but we finally had to implement it on September 1st.”

Las Cruces Utilities (LCU), the department that provides gas, water, wastewater, and solid waste service to the Las Cruces area, is advising that an unknown person may be calling customers requesting payment for their utility bills. The person or persons making these calls are not associated with LCU.

A resident and customer alerted LCU about a suspicious phone call advising him to call a specific phone number with area code 505, and instructed him to pay with a credit/debit card otherwise his services will be disconnected within 24 hours.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A Republican congressional candidate in New Mexico is drawing criticism for questioning her Democratic opponent's Native American heritage over her immigration views and because she wasn't "raised on a reservation."

During an on-air interview Thursday with Fox & Friends , Janice Arnold-Jones appeared to dismiss host Ainsley Earhardt's assertion that Deb Haaland, a member of Laguna Pueblo, could become the nation's first Native American woman in Congress.

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Developers behind a proposed $2 billion high-voltage power line that would funnel wind and solar energy from rural spots in New Mexico and Arizona to larger markets will have to make another run at getting needed approvals from regulators in New Mexico.

The Public Regulation Commission voted unanimously to reject the proposed location of the lines, finding that the application by the SunZia lacked information needed to determine the project's environmental impact on communities it would span.

Democratic Congressman Beto O'Rourke's campaign to unseat U.S. Senator Ted Cruz has landed him before a national television audience. Researchers at Duke University find the amount of water used for fracking has increased dramatically and the oil and gas industry is also generating higher volumes of wastewater. A Las Cruces music school is keeping Mariachi music and culture alive in the community.

Sylvia Ulloa with New Mexico In Depth has been covering child well-being in New Mexico and early childhood education. Ulloa has also reported recently on rural education in the state. She talks about what she has learned on In Focus from KRWG Public Media.

Community recycling programs across the U.S. are scrambling to decrease contamination levels and thereby increase the quality of recyclable materials. New options are also being used to educate recyclers to reduce contaminants before blue bins reach the curb.

Patrick Peck, Director, South Central Solid Waste Authority (SCSWA), explains, “The fee increase approved in March by the SCSWA Board has been postponed as long as possible, but we finally have to implement it on September 1st.”

Time now for Your Weekend Pulse! your guide to what is happening in our area this weekend with Alexia Severson, Pulse Editor for the Las Cruces Sun-News and Edmundo Resendez. This weekend, Crossroads City Derby presents Jocks v Nerds, Movie in the Park presents Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2, and Wheels and Gears Show at the New Mexico Farm and Ranch.

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A political fund for environmental conservation causes in New Mexico plans to devote $500,000 to highlighting financial ties between Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Pearce's and the oil and natural gas industries, starting with local television ads this week.

Albuquerque, NM – Today, Attorney General Hector Balderas announced that the New Mexico Supreme Court declined to review the Court of Appeals decision to uphold the district court decision to hold Teri Lee Sanchez in custody until trial, without bond. Her co-defendant, James Stewart, is also being held without bond pending trial.

Only one year ago, three dogs were living on a property within the Mescalero Apache Reservation. Today, that number has rapidly multiplied resulting in approximately 30 dogs facing life-threatening obstacles from conservation officers and oncoming traffic on US 70.

Española, NM – Today, Attorney General Hector Balderas announced a Rio Arriba County Grand Jury returned an indictment against Barney Trujillo, on 3 felony counts of Unlawful Interest in a Public Contract and 1 felony count of Campaign Contribution Disclosure and Prohibition.

“Public school funds should be used on the needs of students,” said Attorney General Hector Balderas. “I will continue to bring charges against candidates and officials who fail to serve our communities by pursuing or failing to disclose improper financial interests.”

LAS CRUCES — After consulting with experts at Southwest Hazard Control and Sun City Analytical, Las Cruces Public Schools has decided to relocate students who attend Columbia Elementary School to address issues with mold and air quality.

Las Cruces police have identified and charged the driver suspected in the July 14 hit-and-run crash that injured a pedestrian on west Picacho Avenue.

Dennis H. Porter Jr., 39, of the 1800 block of west Picacho Avenue, has been charged with a third-degree felony count of knowingly leaving the scene of an accident that caused great bodily harm and a fourth-degree felony count of tampering with evidence. Porter is also charged with a misdemeanor count of failure to give information and render aid.

Commenatry: WASHINGTON, D.C. (Sept. 6, 2018) – U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) issued the following statement after an announcement from Trump Administration that it is preparing to circumvent limits on the government's detainment of child migrants:

"If this Administration thinks treating children and families humanely is too much to ask, then Secretary Nielsen should do the honorable thing and resign. They need to get real and stop looking for cruel shortcuts that tear families apart.

Tonight at 7 on television from KRWG Public Media, a forum with New Mexico Attorney General candidates Republican Michael Hendricks and Libertarian Blair Dunn. The labor union that represents million of federal employees, including 12,000 U.S. Border Patrol agents, is speaking out. Courts have intervened when municipalities have interfered with First Amendment rights.

Two teachers unions are suing the Texas Education Commissioner regarding rules he's set up for allowing outside groups to manage struggling public schools. KRWG intern James Puff speaks with students at New Mexico State University about their decision to attend the school.